After breakfast, Li Qing rode his bike to the county town.

He was planning to meet Lu Furong.

He wanted to see if this woman with her special interests was willing to give him face and go out for a spin with him.

But when he got there, he made several calls and no one answered; the texts he sent also went unreturned.

Instead, it was Xu Keqing who sent him a message, proactively suggesting they have a life talk.

This realistic woman had clearly tasted the sweet benefits of the Immortality Elixir.

Li Qing naturally agreed with enthusiasm, scheduling for the afternoon.

Then, Li Qing made a call to Sister Hu.

Sister Hu answered the phone readily, her voice filled with intense surprise.

Li Qing did not explain over the phone, but instead arranged to meet Sister Hu at the herbal market where he was.

This place had almost become a must-visit for Li Qing after coming into town.

About half an hour after hanging up the phone, Li Qing, waiting outside the market, saw Sister Hu step out of a taxi.

She seemed to have taken great care with her appearance, her makeup was exquisite, her red lips enticing.

Matched with her grey jumpsuit, she was the very picture of an urban socialite.

This dignified and elegant demeanor was in complete contrast to the way she was in bed, like polar opposites.

"Have you booked the room yet? I’m really pressed for time today," Sister Hu came over and whispered.

Li Qing was taken aback, "I haven’t booked it yet."

"Then hurry up and book one. We need to make it quick; Old Wang is having a few friends over for lunch, and I need to get back to prepare," Sister Hu said in a low voice, "And we can’t go there together; people will see us."

"You go ahead and book the room, then send me the location. I’ll look around here and join you later."

Watching her sneaky demeanor, Li Qing smiled slightly, "Sister Hu, since you’re so short on time, maybe we should just call it off for today."

"Do you think you can handle that?" Sister Hu’s eyes gleamed playfully as she glanced at Li Qing.

"Although I really am pressed for time, it’s still enough to have a quick round with you."

"I really can’t resist," Li Qing laughed, "But I do have other matters today."

"Serious business?" Sister Hu asked in surprise.

Li Qing nodded.

Sister Hu apparently didn’t expect Li Qing to have serious business to discuss with her.

"So, are we doing this now or what?" Sister Hu looked around and whispered.

"Let’s leave it for another day," Li Qing considered and replied.

He also wanted Sister Hu to help him with Lu Furong but was worried about running out of time.

"Okay, then let’s just pretend we’ve bumped into each other and walk around here for a bit," Sister Hu said.

Li Qing nodded and asked, "Sister Hu, do you have the time and desire to head out for a trip with me?"

"A trip out?" Sister Hu asked, surprised.

"Yeah, to somewhere far where absolutely no one knows us," Li Qing said.

Sister Hu immediately seemed troubled, "I’d love to go, but it’s tough for me to find an excuse to leave the house."

"Take Lu Furong with you. You can go out as cousins for a trip, relax and unwind. That excuse should hold up, right?" Li Qing suggested with a smile.

A flush of shyness appeared on Sister Hu’s face as she lightly scolded, "I knew you were up to no good."

"The excuse is good, but I’m afraid Furong won’t agree; you know her personality."

Li Qing smirked, "As long as you, Sister Hu, can bring her out, everything will be fine."

"You two go ahead first, and I’ll follow behind. We can meet up over there."

"So, have you talked to her about this yet?" Sister Hu asked.

Li Qing shook his head and said, "I’m counting on you, Sister Hu. I did want to bring it up myself, but I’m afraid she might not agree."

He had indeed been planning to speak directly to Lu Furong.

But now that he thought about it, knowing Lu Furong’s hell-raising temper, she probably wouldn’t agree so easily.

Saying nothing and letting Sister Hu step in might just be the best way.

Sister Hu smiled wryly and gave Li Qing a sideways glance, "You’re such a rascal."

"Do you ever think about anything serious? All you have in mind are tricks and schemes."

"However, the thought of getting out and seeing the world is quite appealing to me, so I’ll give it a try, but don’t blame me if it doesn’t work out."

Li Qing chuckled, "Sister Hu, I believe in you. You can definitely make it happen."

"So have you thought about where we should go?" Sister Hu asked, giving Li Qing a coquettish look.

"Wherever you guys want to go, we’ll go," Li Qing said.

The destination and scenery were secondary to him.

The main purpose of his plan wasn’t focused on the trip, so he was flexible.

"Then let’s go to the sea. I’ve always wanted to stroll by the seaside. Even at this age, I’ve never been," Sister Hu said, suddenly excited.

Going out for a trip is inherently exciting.

The anticipation of the unknown swiftly made Sister Hu forget all other thoughts.

"Alright!" Li Qing agreed cheerfully.

"Really? That’s wonderful! I’ll call Furong right away," Sister Hu said joyfully.

They agreed on a time for the trip and what they needed to prepare, and then Sister Hu left.

As she was leaving, she bought a large bag of star anise and a bundle of Codonopsis root.

It was her excuse for being at the medicinal herb market.

Li Qing continued to browse, inquiring about the prices of the herbs before he left as well.

Just as he was about to rent a car to visit the construction sites in the other two towns, his phone rang; it was Lu Furong.

"I was in the middle of an argument and didn’t have time to answer the phone. What’s up?" Lu Furong’s tone was indifferent.

"You were arguing with Secretary Zhou?" Li Qing asked, surprised.

"Why would I bother arguing with him? I’m too lazy to waste my breath. It was the beauty salon!" Lu Furong said with a hint of disdain.

"When I was signing up for a membership, I might as well have been their ancestor, with each of them bending over backwards to please me."

"But when I wanted to cancel my membership, it was like they became the ancestors, and I was the beggar. I caused such a scene in anger."

"I paid twenty thousand for the membership, and they just wanted to swallow it up without hesitation—not going to happen!"

"Even if I can’t get my money back, I’m going to make them pay dearly."

A twenty-thousand-yuan salon membership made Li Qing secretly grimace.

Lu Furong really was loaded!

"Did you get your money back?" Li Qing asked.

"No, and I lost another six thousand because I trashed the salon," Lu Furong snapped.

Li Qing: ...

"Spit it out, what do you want?" Lu Furong asked irritably.

"I want to mess with you!" Li Qing gave a blunt reply.

"Fine, I’m not in a good mood either. Let’s go to the hospital," Lu Furong said.

"Just like last time, don’t let Xu Keqing know that you know I’m here."

Li Qing: ...

She’s really decisive this time!